Ancient Medication, Westernized
Meditation, the art of being calm. First known to originate in Asia, specifically in China and India, meditation has evolved in numerous ways to a vast population. India has carried an ancient history of meditational practices, with the oldest records transcribed from around 1500 BCE, specifically through the reference of Dhyāna in its many texts, which is translated into the training of the mind. In China, meditation is referenced back as far as the 3rd or even 6th century, with links to the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, otherwise known as Master Lao. However, as meditation has expanded to the westernized world, the techniques and mindset that individuals have while approaching it, is significantly different from the origins of the practice. Let’s take a look at this a little bit more closely.
Mediation first travelled to the West in the 18th century. It was during this time when many of the South Asian texts, such as the Upanishad’s, and the Buddisht Sutra’s were translated into European languages, which essentially sparked the research that is present in many articles today. Early philosophers, such as Voltaire, examined meditation to be a topic of research, and provided a pathway to gain popularity in the upcoming generations. While gaining popularity, approaches to meditation in the upcoming generations also differed as well. The discipline of psychology associates an individual’s behavior and mind, whereas the religious point of view emphasizes the spirituality of an individual. Today, there are numerous studies that effectively present the concept of meditation through the humanities and religious viewpoint, such as in a book titled “Buddhist Meditation, an anthology of texts from the Pali Canon.” This religious viewpoint of meditation has impacted several generations of individuals throughout history. Rather than associating it as a practice for stress relief, many viewed it as a means of self control and devotion to the world around them. However, with popularity, meditation today is largely seen in a different form.
Research aspects of mediation came into play when Swami Vivekananda, a yogi, presented the topic in Chicago, at the Parliament of Religions. Subsequent to this, the field of psychology has engulfed meditation and many psychologists have conducted several studies on meditative outcomes. The first scientific article was composed and published in 1936. Ever since then, mediation has been a subject of study for many individuals in many age groups. Its relationship with variables such as stress, cognitive function, and the overall mentality of individuals. Meditation, specifically mindfulness meditation, has been previously researched to indicate various psychological outcomes that have an impact on cognitive performance as well as attention. One of these outcomes is decreased heart rate. Various studies have presented data on how meditation can relax the heart rate of an individual through a relaxation response that arises due to the environment and lack of stimuli around the individual’s perception. To a greater extent, studies have tested the cortical levels of individuals and have surfaced on data that showcased an increase in alpha waves’ amplitude. Biologically, alpha waves are an indicator of relaxation, and are oftentimes present during an individual’s transition to sleep. Due to such profounding studies, the aim of meditative views has drifted in the past few decades.
Presently, meditation is seen as a source to fight a stimuli, rather than a source to uplift from a stimuli. Take negativity for example, today mediation revolves around the aspect of eliminating negativity through a means of fighting it off with inner peace. In ancient meditation, the user would undergo meditation as a means of uplifting from the negativity that may be present. This leads to an alternate view on meditation by implying it as a practice that seeks to cure, which can oftentimes mislead upcoming generations by associating the spiritual practice itself to “disorders”, rather than purification. Although meditation has an essential impact of associating the mind with positivity, there have been numerous sources that associate it with the elimination of negativity rather than focusing on positivity. While this may be a minor change in the way an individual approaches the practice of meditation, it can certainly lead to a significant change in the overall approach to it in future generations.
While there is no “wrong” or “right” way to meditate, this article aims to provide more insight into meditation and its different approaches. Meditation is a concept that has evolved through generations, cultures, and its form of practice. Due to these changes, it is a concept that is viewed differently across multiple disciplines. While the religious, ancient, perspective is more inclined to approach meditation as less of a practice and more of a mindset, the psychological and research perspective views meditation as less of a mindset and more of a practice. The various disciplinary views of meditation centralizes the idea of how one concept has multiple approaches. What is your take on meditation? Why do you meditate, and what purpose does it serve in your life?
